With another 4th of July in the books, it’s important that we as Americans take a look back and appreciate the things that best embody this great nation of ours. I’m talking, of course, about the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest. As you no doubt already know (in part because we mentioned it earlier today), Joey Chestnut reclaimed our country’s honor with a record 68 hot dogs consumed. Hooray for America.

But what you may not have known is that this record was far from the most impressive hot dog eating accomplishment of all time, and far from the sexiest. Oh, yes, hot dog eating can be disturbingly sexy. Check it out.

By now you probably are (unwittingly) aware that a fine fellow named Joey Chestnut is the top dog in the (unfortunate) world of competitive eating. So I was a little skeptical when the folks at YARDBARKER told me their managing editor, Dewey Hammond, recently defeated Chestnut in a beer-chugging contest.

As we continue to recognize the invention of new games, we fondly look back on an older attempt in a uniquely American flavor: conspicuous consumption of American meats in a blatantly capitalistic advertising venture. Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time to eat some Nathan’s hot dogs. FANHOUSE provides the play-by-play; we provide the results.

Joey Chestnut (reigning champion of pork tubeage) and Kobayashi (vanquished foe) proved themselves to be the best in the world at cramming hot dogs down their magnificent gullets, posting record number of dogs downed well ahead of the competition. They were so evenly matched that they ended regulation in a tie, forcing the consumption of penalty dogs.

Chestnut then downed five hot dogs faster than Kobayashi, breaking the deadlock and continuing to hold the ever-expanding belt. USA! USA!Read more…

Schmitz: “They were unable to hold their usual morning shoot-around at Wachovia Center because of ‘The Wing Bowl,’ the annual chicken wing-eating contest scheduled for the Friday before the Super Bowl. Doors opened at 6 a.m. and the eating began at 7:55 a.m.